


Melliferous

by ZeroX



Category: Lobotomy Corporation (Video Game)
Genre: Body Horror, Depression, Insects, M/M, Medical Horror, Mental Illness, Trauma, masons just like that im sorry, oc fiction - Freeform, potentially implied cannibalism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 02:18:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17417141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZeroX/pseuds/ZeroX
Summary: How does one cope when someone you thought would never fall simply crumples under the effects of an unknown change? How do you move on, unsure if they will survive? Even if they survive, will things be okay after becoming something monstrous? What happens then?





	Melliferous

**Author's Note:**

> This all starts after a comic that I have yet to draw. The gist of what the comic entails is:  
> >Mason finds Jjuk in his room  
> >Jjuk's body is falling apart as it changes into a more monsterlike, insect one  
> >Mason drags Jjuk to the medbay  
> >Medbay carts Jjuk into the emergency room  
> >Mason is left alone
> 
> And that's where this takes off from. It's mostly isolated to just my characters, but being familiar with the game helps contextualize.

Everyone’s been clued in on it. They don’t know what exactly is going on, but it’s obvious that _something_ is. Charlotte naturally picks up on everything, and she immediately noticed Mason’s off. There’s the way he grips his weapon just a little too tight, the way he’s not smiling as much as he usually is, the way he seems slightly unfocused, slightly stern. He’s not humming today. He’s almost never wound up, but she can tell he is. Of course, she says something to River right away, and Anastasia catches word. Word always travels fast if Charlotte knows something.

 

But whatever this word is, it’s unclear, and obviously not a good thing. If Mason’s upset, something _is wrong_.

 

He’s not aware that everyone’s noticed he’s upset, but Mason can’t shake this. Not this time. They’re all trained to know that your co-workers can die, that they _will_ die. But the higher ups never feel like it could happen to them. The manager is good to them. They’re hypervigilant, and if something's too risky, they tell everyone to get out, but this? This was out of left field. It just didn’t make any sense, it felt impossible. They’re all trained to know what happens when the HE and higher classed abnormalities breach; from the biological hazards, to the way they move, how they roam the facility when out. Some idly wander, attacking things as they feel fit; others home in on people aggressively. Queen Bee was unique. She’s new, of course, but they’ve already figured out how this all works. She doesn’t get out, instead releasing spores that poison employees, and if it’s enough to kill, they change into insectoid monsters... Like Jjuk did. But it didn’t make sense, none of it worked how it should have.

The change is nearly instant, a horrible visceral rupture that results in a mindless drone. This morning didn’t happen like that. Jjukuruk seemed conscious, at least slightly, through all that. He was there enough to respond to basic questions, even when his head was falling apart. Mason could feel the rolling nausea come back in his gut. There was no logical way for him to have been infected, either. Jjuk doesn’t work downstairs unless there’s something that everyone needs help suppressing, so how could he have gotten spores on himself? Maybe he dragged them up to security himself since he’s fought the drones before, but if he had them on himself for that long, wouldn’t he have turned before him? And it would have started earlier than that too. Mason’s seen how this works in person, so the fact that it was different?

It was beyond upsetting. He couldn’t stop thinking about it, and he couldn’t stand it. He tried to keep working, trying to do his job, but he couldn’t handle this. He couldn’t even stop himself from going back to medbay, but he wasn’t permitted entry. It was probably for the best. The truth is, Jjuk probably is dead. He was probably dead minutes after he dragged him in there; likely euthanized for being a risk. Even if he wasn’t, what would have happened? Jjuk probably wouldn’t even be able to be… well, who he is. Who he was. Mason’s sure that the change would probably destroy his brain, so what would the point be? What’s the point of keeping someone alive when they’ve become a brainless monster?

 Mason laughs dryly, staring at the ground in security’s main room. One of his co-workers eyes him warily, one of the new agents on the team. He probably noticed Jjukuruk was suspiciously gone too. The agent asks why Mason’s laughing to himself, but he doesn’t bother responding, just shaking his head. He fiddles with his weapon, pinching one of the spines on the end idly. Part of him wonders if it’d be good for him to stab himself with it. Just a little wouldn’t hurt, right? It’s not as potent, he knows that’s true. No, no. He doesn’t need to fuck himself up too.

 

But god, is it tempting.

 

He’s distracted by his thoughts with an order being sent through the headpiece in his ear. He’s got to go downstairs, go work with T-05-41. The idea of walking past that containment room on the way there makes him nauseous. Gritting his teeth, he gathers up his supplies and starts down the hall.

 

* * *

 

Mason couldn’t sleep. Of course he couldn’t— Walking past Jjuk’s room at the end of the day almost started a full meltdown; making him rush into his room. He’s not sure how many things he’s broken at this point, but he’s thrown a number of things around, laughing in desperate delirium. He can’t stand this. God, he can’t fucking stand this. After a while, he just sat on his bed, mind entirely blank. He’s not even sure if he was awake the whole time, but it was hard to tell after a while. He never thought any sound would ever blot out the faint grinding and music that always was in his head; but that soft droning noise from the morning before wouldn’t stop. He kept telling himself it was tinnitus, but he knew better at this point. Throwing himself in that machine would be better than hearing that sound.

Eventually, the intercom set into the wall of his room beeps. For a moment, he doesn’t even hear it, staring at the wall and missing the first words said. He’s not ready to work. He can’t work. Blankly, he glances at the clock, taking a moment to register it’s too early to even be called for work. This is for something else. He bolts up, snapping his head at the intercom. Whoever’s talking is already asking for him to respond to their message. Stumbling to his feet, he walks over to the speaker, having to lean on the wall as he holds the response button.

“Sorry, can you repeat that…?” God, he sounds like shit. “I didn’t... hear the first part, I was… Asleep…” He really hopes this is important, and that it doesn’t require him going somewhere.

“Mason, you’ve been requested to medbay. Come as soon as possible. Do you read me?”

He locks up, staring at the intercom. Why? It’s hard to choke down the dread in order to speak. “U-uh, yeah… I’ll… I’ll be there in a moment…”

 

As he takes his finger off the response button, he pushes himself off the wall, staring at the door. He has to go, he’s not about to betray an order, but any possible reason to go isn’t one he wants to face. Slowly, he opens the door, heading towards the medbay. What are they going to tell him when he gets there? Is it just going to be them telling him he’s dead? Couldn’t they just tell him without him having to be _there?_ Is it going to be something worse? Are they afraid he’s infected _too?_ He hates feeling fear like this, but he can’t shake it as he walks to the medbay.

 When he walks in, the room is sparse compared to last morning. Perhaps it’s because it’s far earlier, but it’s unnerving all the same. He hopes that’s the case, but the idea of Jjuk mindlessly killing people in here fills him with more dread than the idea of people dying. He doesn’t deserve that, not like this. The employee at the front looks him over before speaking up.

 

“Mason? They want you in the back, room 5-A.” She pauses, glancing at a far more paranoid coworker idly. “Don’t threaten people this time.”

 

He would be embarrassed about that if he wasn’t deeply mortified. Silently, he walks past the desk, looking for whatever room he was being called to. He shouldn’t be scared, he really shouldn’t. He’s faced down a variety of abominations that were trying to kill him, but he’s scared of whatever the hell may be past the door ahead. Someone‒ probably one of the head medical staff‒ stands by a door, watching him approach. He’s absolutely blank as Mason walks up to him, which only adds to his dread.

“Mason, in here. Manager explicitly stated that you would be the first to know.”

The bile rises in his throat. “K-know what...?”

He sighs, the first tell of any emotion. “It’s easier to show than explain.” The man gestures into the room before walking in. Mason couldn’t help but hesitate as the door opened.

 

In the middle of the room is a bed, a wide variety of machines to the sides of it. What’s in the bed is _not_ something Mason expected, and it makes him freeze in place. Half elevated against a pillow is Jjukuruk– or, at least, what’s left of him. He’s almost entirely unrecognizable, the only clear tell that it’s actually him is the swept aside hair and the tiny fragment of his face that hasn’t become carapace. The edge between his skin and the smooth shell is covered with taped on gauze, faint hints of blood tinging it. His upper jaw is almost identical the drones he’s seen breaking out in the facility; the only difference is that it’s compacted on the side his face is, the slightest part of his lip at the edge the fangs. More shocking is the fact that he has a tracheal tube stuck in him. He was breathing.

“We don’t know how, but… He’s stable, at least for now.” The medic walks over to the side of the bed, double checking some of the machines. “I don’t fully understand why, but the manager insisted we do what we can. Perhaps it was the fact that he’s an important employee, or the fact that…” He pauses, rubbing his face‒ clearly a little stressed‒ before gesturing vaguely at him. “Whatever it is that happened here, was unprecedented. We still don’t know how this happened, why, or how it happened the way it did. Perhaps it’s to study how this process works… I’m sure they requested you to come because you were the first and only person to know what happened.”

Mason is too stunned to immediately speak, staring at Jjuk, and the machines attached to him. It takes him a little while to even gather his thoughts. “Is he… Is he still Jjuk…?” He pauses, still staring at his deformed face with a grim expression. “I mean… He’s not like… those things, right? He’s still in there somewhere?”

The medic sighs, rubbing his temples. “At this point, we don’t know. Before we put him under, he could answer basic yes or no questions. We don’t know much more since his entire lower jaw detached itself. If he becomes responsive again, we plan on doing some reconstructive surgery.” He pauses, frowning. Might as well lay out the truth. “...You know that if he doesn’t become responsive, or if he becomes a threat, he will be euthanized, correct?”

“...I know.” Mason is all too aware, but he still is failing to process it. Would it be better to just… Put him down now? He knows the chance of him being in there, of Jjuk being himself in that shape, is probably impossible. So why not cut it at the curve? Can he bear the idea of Jjuk just… dying like that, though? Suffering horribly, only to die because of something that no one could figure out the cause of? The last he’d see of him is this horrible, mangled shape, and then he’d be gone. This isn’t supposed to happen. Not like this. He rubs a hand against his face, trying to not tear up. He’s not supposed to cry about these things.

 

The medic is quiet for a bit, stepping back over to the machines to adjust settings and examine feedback. After some time, he finally speaks up. “You’re allowed to stay here until we do more medical work or the daily work starts. We have security cameras here, in case something goes wrong.” He sighs to himself as he walks out the door. “No promises. You know how it is here…”

Mason stands in silence, trying and failing to not look or sound upset. He was ready to see the people he considers friends die around him, but he honestly never truly felt like it would happen. Sure, they weren’t as skilled or as capable as the team in information department, but they’ve all proven capable even in some of the most dire of events. Why could have this have happened? He doesn’t even know why he’s trying to mentally talk himself through this. He should just… suck it up and deal. Go back to work. Accept it. He should have gone with his instinct when he first saw all this, just so that Jjuk wouldn’t have to be put down like a mindless dog.

 

He can’t stand being in here. Taking a shaky breath, he turns around and walks out of the room. He’s just going to go back to his room and wait for the work day to come. Just drop this, and let it go. It’s not going to get better. As he’s walking out of medbay, he pauses at one of the desks, hesitating for a moment. He shouldn’t. He really shouldn’t.

 

“I… I know you probably… can’t… But…” He laughs dryly, not even looking at the medic next to him. “If… Something happens. Anything, I-I guess… Would It be possible… For someone to notify me… I know I won’t be permitted to come from work… I just… I need to know.”

The medic looks at him with a frown, before tapping away at her keyboard. “...I don’t know, but I will ask… No promises, you know?”

 

Mason laughs again, still staring blankly down the hall. “I-I know.”

 

* * *

 

 

The force of the cactus-like club hits Funeral’s head with enough force to tear off a wing, knocking him straight into his coffin. Mason grinds his teeth a little as he puts up his weapon. He’s visibly agitated as he shakes himself out, getting the stray butterflies off of him. Anastasia looks between him and the abnormality, frowning at them both as she lowers her guns. She’s not one to swear, but…  _ shit. _ She’s never seen him hit anything that hard. Honestly, she feels bad for him. He barely even got out of the door before they were on him. That didn’t matter right now, though. 

 

“...Mason, are you okay?” She takes a few steps closer to him, ignoring the still-clinging bugs on her. “You seem… off, you know?”

It takes him some effort to not glare at her. No, this isn’t her fault. “I… I’m fine…” He swallows roughly, trying to make himself not sound upset or angry. “I’m just… Not having a good day, I guess.”

Anastasia tilts her head, still frowning at him. She knows that’s not the truth. “...Are you sure? You’re not usually… Well, you don’t seem to be acting like you usually are…” She sighs, glancing down the hall the opposite way before taking a softer tone of voice. “You know you can talk to me about stuff…”

She notices the way his lip twitches, just a tiny bit. He can’t talk to her about this. She doesn’t need that burden too. “N-no, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Mason... Please, I can tell something’s wrong. Look, you’re one of my closest friends, you can talk to me…” He doesn’t say anything, silent as he looks pointedly away. She doesn’t like how he’s acting; she’s never seen him this bad. “... Is… Does this have to do with Jjuk being awa--”

He involuntarily tenses up, cutting her off as he turns away quickly. “Sorry, I have to go back to security now.” He doesn’t want to give her a chance to try stopping him, so he starts down the hall as fast as he can without stomping or running off.

“M-Mason, wait!” Of course, he doesn’t listen. Anastasia is left in the hallway alone with a suppressed abnormality, and a scattering of dead clerks. This isn’t something she’s used to whatsoever, and she absolutely doesn’t know what to do. She hopes she can get a chance to talk to River or Charlotte soon.

 

“...Shit.”

 

A few hours later, Mason gets a message over his headset.

 


End file.
